Pope Francis, Priesthood And Mission. Ten Inspirational Insights

POPE FRANCIS, PRIESTHOOD AND MISSION. TEN INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHTS73III. Seek to Live a Modest Lifestyle; Be AvailableAlthough diocesan priests do not take the vow of poverty like religiouspriests, all priests commit themselves to living and practicing a simple style oflife. It is well known that during his years in Buenos Aires, Cardinal Bergogliolived in a small apartment rather than in an episcopal residence; he used publictransportation rather than having a car with a driver; he cooked for himself. Asthe newly elected Pope, he rode with the other cardinals on the bus, paid hisown hotel bill, and now he maintains a very modest car and lives in the CasaSanta Marta. Pope Francis knows the material needs necessary for the apostolate; however, he also challenges his fellow priests to examine their sincerityand authenticity in living their own spiritual poverty.Francis admits: ‟In the Church we have, and have always had, our sins andfailings [ ]. Our people forgive us priests for our many failings, except forthat of attachment to money. This does not have so much to do with moneyitself, but the fact that money makes us lose the treasure of mercy. Our peoplecan sniff out which sins are truly grave for the priest, the sins that kill hisministry [ ]. Being merciful is not only ‘a way of life,’ but ‘the way of life.’There is no other way of being a priest” (VV).How do priests become ‟good and faithful servants” (cf. Mt 25:21)? ForFrancis, ‟we are asked to be available [ ]. Each morning he trains himselfto be generous with his life and to realize that the rest of the day will not behis own, but given over to others [ ]. One who serves is open to surprises, toGod’s constant surprises [ ]. One who serves is not worried about the timetable. It deeply troubles me when I see a timetable in a parish: ‘From sucha time to such a time.’ And then? There is no open door, no priest, no deacon,no layperson to receive people. This is not good [ ]. If you show that you areavailable to others, your ministry will not be self-serving, but evangelicallyfruitful” (SS).Francis has spoken frequently on the virtue of availability in priests. Inhis 2014 Chrism Mass, he noted: ‟The availability of her priests makes theChurch a house with open doors, a refuge for sinners, a home for people living on the streets, a place of loving care for the sick, a camp for the young,a classroom for catechizing children about to make their First Communion[ ]. Wherever God’s people have desires or needs, there is the priest, whoknows how to listen (ob-audire) and feels a loving mandate from Christ whosends him to relieve that need with mercy or to encourage those good desireswith resourceful charity” (EE).Pope Francis’ commitment to simple living is concretely reflected in hischoice of his Papal name: Francis. Many of the details of his ‟name-choice”are commonly known, since Francis himself narrated them. When it became

74JAMES H. KROEGERclear that he was chosen, his friend, Cardinal Claudio Hummes who was seated next to him, hugged him, gave him a kiss, and said: ‟Don’t forget the poor!”Francis said: ‟Those words came to me: the poor, the poor. Then, right away,thinking of the poor, I thought of Francis of Assisi. For me, he is the man ofpoverty.” Francis added: ‟How I would like a Church which is poor and forthe poor.” In his Evangelii Gaudium, Francis has a major section on the inclusion of the poor in the Church and society (EG 186-216); he strongly reiterateshis desire: ‟I want a Church which is poor and for the poor” (EG 198).IV. Admit One’s Limitations; Become a Model of IntegrityThe Letter to the Hebrews (5:1) states that ‟every high priest has beentaken from among men and made their representative before God.” Presbyterorum Ordinis, the Vatican II document on the Ministry and Life of Priests,asserts: ‟Priests, who are taken from among men and ordained for men in thethings that belong to God in order to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins, nevertheless live on earth with other men as brothers” (PO 3). Priests are truly tobe ‟in this world, but not of this world;” they need to be deeply aware of boththeir ‟nothingness”/ ‟humanness” as well as their ‟greatness”/‟dignity.” Evenin their weaknesses they are to manifest the overwhelming power and presence of the divine. The manifold workings of God’s grace within our humanlimitations is indeed a profound mystery; we priests should allow ourselves tobe overwhelmed by God’s loving mercy – and shed tears of joyful gratitude!Francis says: ‟That is how we [priests] have to see ourselves: poisedbetween our utter shame and our sublime dignity. Dirty, impure, mean andselfish, yet at the same time, with feet washed, called and chosen to distribute the Lord’s multiplied loaves, blessed by our people, loved and cared for.Only mercy makes this situation bearable. Without it, either we believe in ourown righteousness like the Pharisees, or we shrink back like those who feelunworthy [ ]. The important thing is that each of us feel that fruitful tension born of the Lord’s mercy: we are at one and the same time sinners pardoned and sinners restored to dignity” (TT). ‟The mercy of God [ ] is always‘greater’ than our consciousness of our sinfulness” (UU).Pope Francis asserts that ‟A good priest, therefore, is first of all a man withhis own humanity, who knows his own history, with its riches and its wounds,who has learned to make peace with this, achieving the fundamental serenityproper to one of the Lord’s disciples [ ]. Our humanity is the ‘earthen vessel’ in which we conserve God’s treasure, a vessel we must take care of, so asto transmit well its precious contents [ ]. He is the ‘high priest,’ at the sametime close to God and close to man; he is the ‘servant,’ who washes the feet

POPE FRANCIS, PRIESTHOOD AND MISSION. TEN INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHTS75and makes himself close to the weakest; he is the ‘good shepherd,’ who alwayscares for his flock” (OO).One can identify various faults and failures in priests, who receive harshwords from Pope Francis: the sins of careerism / authoritarianism / [and] ‟clericalism, which is a distortion of religion” (DD). There is the sin of ‟existentialschizophrenia [ ] the disease of those who live a double life, the fruit of thathypocrisy typical of the mediocre” (HH). On several occasions, Pope Francistold priests to be much more merciful to divorced Catholics and to welcomeremarried couples and their children to the Church (NN). ‟The Church is calledto be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open [ ]. Everyone canshare in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community; nor should the doors of the sacraments [e.g. Baptism, Eucharist] beclosed for simply any reason” (EG 47).Therefore, priests need to constantly examine their conscience and styleof life. Pope Francis offers a very brief examination of conscience for priests:‟Where is my heart? Among the people, praying with and for the people, involved in their joys and sufferings, or rather among the things of the world,worldly affairs, my private space?” (OO). Another approach that Francis suggests is the ‟hymn to charity” in Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthiansas a guide and an examination of conscience (JJ). In addition, do we priestsrealize that we are ‟useless servants” (Lk 17:10), ‟whom the Lord blesseswith the fruitfulness of his grace, seats us at his table, and serves us the Eucharist”? (VV). Priests – the entire Church – must never become ‟self-referential!” (VV).V. Exude Joy in Ministry; Receive and Give AffectionThe dominant theme for Pope Francis’ second Chrism Mass reflection(2014) was ‟priestly joy.” ‟We recall the happy day of the institution of thepriesthood, as well as the day of our own priestly ordination. The Lord anointed us in Christ with the oil of gladness, and this anointing invites us to acceptand appreciate this great gift: the gladness, the joy of being a priest. Priestly joyis a priceless treasure, not only for the priest himself, but for the entire faithfulpeople of God: that faithful people from which he is called to be anointed andwhich he, in turn, is sent to anoint” (EE).“Priestly joy has its source in the Father’s love, and the Lord wishes thejoy of this love to be ‘ours’ and to be ‘complete’ (Jn 15:11) [ ]. There arethree significant features of our priestly joy. It is a joy which anoints us [ ], itis a joy which is imperishable, and it is a missionary joy which spreads and attracts [ ]. A joy which anoints us. In a word, it has penetrated deep within our

76JAMES H. KROEGERhearts; it has shaped them and strengthened them sacramentally [ ]. We areanointed down to our very bones, and our joy, which wells up from deep within, is the echo of this anointing. An imperishable joy [ ] which the Lord haspromised no one can take from us (Jn 16:22) [ ]. A missionary joy: priestlyjoy is deeply bound up with God’s holy and faithful people [ ] for baptizingand confirming them, healing and sanctifying them, blessing, comforting andevangelizing them” (EE).Recall that the first major document issued by Pope Francis was EvangeliiGaudium (The Joy of the Gospel). For Francis, ‟The joy of the Gospel fills thehearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus [ ]. With Christ joy is constantlyborn anew [ ]. I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upona new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy” (EG 1).Hidden in this first apostolic exhortation by Francis are several creativeexpressions to remind us of the centrality of joy in our apostolate. ‟There areChristians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter” (EG 6). ‟An evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral” (EG10). We must be wary of a ‟tomb psychology” that ‟transforms Christians intomummies in a museum” (EG 83). Francis quoted Saint John XXIII, assertingthat ‟We feel we must disagree with those prophets of doom who are alwaysforecasting disaster, as though the end of the world were at hand” (EG 84).Christians must avoid anything that “turns us into querulous and disillusionedpessimists, ‘sourpusses’” (EG 85). ‟Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed ofthe joy of evangelization!” (EG 83).For Francis, a priest should be a true apostle, ‟a person who transmits joyeverywhere he goes. A heart filled with God is a happy heart that radiates aninfectious joy; it is immediately evident! So let us not lose that joyful, humorous and even self-deprecating spirit which makes people amiable even in difficult situations. How beneficial is a good dose of humor! We would do wellto recite often the prayer of Saint Thomas More. I say it every day” (HH). Thefinal line of More’s prayer is: ‟Grant me, O Lord, a sense of good humor. Allow me the grace to be able to take a joke and to discover a bit of joy in lifeand to be able to share it with others” (HH).Pope Francis has fervently implored the Lord for the gift of joy for priests.‟On this priestly Thursday, I ask the Lord Jesus to preserve the joy sparklingin the eyes of the recently ordained [ ]. Preserve, Lord, in your young prieststhe joy of going forth, of doing everything as if for the first time, the joy ofspending their lives fully for you [ ]. I ask the Lord to confirm the priestlyjoy of those who have already ministered for some years [ ], those who bearthe burden of the ministry [ ]. I ask the Lord Jesus to make better known thejoy of elderly priests, whether healthy or infirm. It is the joy of the Cross [ ].May they know the joy of handing on the torch, the joy of seeing new genera-

POPE FRANCIS, PRIESTHOOD AND MISSION. TEN INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHTS77tions of their spiritual children, and of hailing the promises from afar, smilingand at peace, in that hope which does not disappoint” (EE).VI. Be Committed to Quality PreachingMany Catholics were surprised when Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudiumdevoted twenty-five sections to the homily and preaching (EG 135-159). Francis made several straightforward – even blunt – statements about priests andpreaching. ‟The homily is the touchstone for judging a pastor’s closeness andability to communicate to his people” (135). ‟The homily cannot be a formof entertainment [ ]. It should be brief and avoid taking on the semblanceof a speech or a lecture [ ]. If the homily goes on too long, it will affecttwo characteristic elements of the liturgical celebration: its balance and itsrhythm”(138). ‟Preparation for preaching is such an important task that a prolonged time of study, prayer, reflection and pastoral creativity should be devoted to it [ ]. A preacher who does not prepare is not ‘spiritual’; he is dishonestand irresponsible with the gifts he has received” (145).The homily ‟should not be used to correct errors [ ], it should not be employed to teach doctrine [ ], it should not be used to expound various theological opinions [ ], let us not use it to talk about the latest news” (147). ‟Whatis essential is that the preacher be certain that God loves him, that Jesus Christhas saved him and that his love always has the last word” (151). ‟Preparationfor preaching thus becomes an exercise in evangelical discernment” [linkingprofound faith to contemporary life] (154). ‟Another feature of a good homilyis that it is positive [ ]. Positive preaching always offers hope, points to thefuture, does not leave us trapped in negativity” (159).Speaking to newly ordained priests, Francis said: ‟May your homiliesnot be boring; may your homilies touch the heart of the people because theycome from your heart, because what you are telling them is what you carryin your heart. It is in this way that the Word of God is passed on, and thusyour teaching will be a joy and support to Christ’s faithful; the fragrance ofyour lives will be your testimony” (LL). One readily recalls here the episcopalmotto of John Henry Cardinal Newman: Cor ad cor loquitur [Heart speaks toheart].“A good priest can be recognized by the way his people are anointed; thisis clear proof. When our people are anointed with the oil of gladness, it is obvious: for example, when they leave Mass looking as if they have heard goodnews. Our people like to hear the Gospel preached with ‘unction,’ they like itwhen the Gospel we preach touches their daily lives [ ], when it brings lightto moments of extreme darkness [ ]. People thank us because they feel we

78JAMES H. KROEGERhave prayed over the realities of their everyday lives, their troubles, their joys,their burdens, and their hopes” (AA).VII. Carefully Monitor any ‟Clerical Position or Power” You PossessPerhaps the most pointed address of Pope Francis to alert priests and bishops to some possible pitfalls in their ministry and life is found in his 2014Christmas message to the Roman Curia (HH). The message was crafted asa kind of ‟examination of conscience,” following the practice of the DesertFathers, who wrote ‟lists” as a preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Francis noted that healing comes about through an awareness of one’ssickness and the personal and communal decision to patiently and perseveringly apply the appropriate remedies.Francis mentioned some of the probable ‟diseases and temptations whichweaken our service to the Lord,” which can weaken our ‟vital, personal, authentic and solid relationship with Christ.” Mentioning several specific itemsprovides clarity and can foster ‟a living relationship with God that nourishesand strengthens our communion with others.” The ‟disease list” of Pope Francis includes fifteen items (HH).First, there is (1) ‟the disease of thinking we are ‘immortal,’ ‘immune,’ ordownright ‘indispensable’; [ ] it is the disease of those who turn into lordsand masters and think of themselves as above others and not at their service. Itis an effect of the pathology of power, from a superiority complex.” (2) ‟Another disease is the ‘Martha complex,’ excessive busy-ness [ ] Jesus calledhis disciples to ‘rest a while.’” (3) ‟Then too there is the disease of mentaland spiritual ‘petrification’; it is found in those who have a heart of stone [ ],those who lose ‘the sentiments of Jesus.’” (4) ‟The disease of excessive planning and of functionalism.” (5) ‟The disease of poor coordination [that arises]once the members lose communion among themselves.”Pope Francis lists other possible diseases, such as (6) ‟spiritual Alzheimer’s disease [which] consists of losing the memory of our personal ‘salvationhistory,’ our past history with the Lord and our ‘first love’ [ ]. We see it inthose who have lost the memory of their encounter with the Lord.” (7) ‟Thedisease of rivalry and vainglory [ ] [which includes] our titles of honor.” (8)‟The disease of existential schizophrenia; this is the disease of those who livea double life.” (9) ‟The disease of gossiping, grumbling and back-biting [ ].Brothers, let us be on our guard against the terrorism of gossip!” (10) ‟Thedisease of idolizing superiors [ ] in the hope of gaining their favor.” SuchChurch leaders ‟are victims of careerism and opportunism [ ]. They servethinking only of what they can get and not of what they should give.”

POPE FRANCIS, PRIESTHOOD AND MISSION. TEN INSPIRATIONAL INSIGHTS79The five final diseases listed by Pope Francis begin with (11) ‟the diseaseof indifference to others. This is where each individual thinks only of himselfand loses sincerity and warmth in their human relationships.” (12) ‟The disease of a lugubrious face. Those glum and dour persons who think that to beserious we have to put on a face of melancholy and severity, and treat others[ ] with rigor, brusqueness and arrogance.” (13) ‟The disease of hoarding[when one] tries to fill an existential void in his heart by accumulating material goods, not out of need but only in order to feel secure.” (14) ‟The diseaseof closed circles, where belonging to a clique becomes more powerful thanbelonging to the Body and, in some circumstances, to Christ himself.” Lastly,(15) ‟the disease of worldly profit, of forms of self-exhibition [which beginswhen] an apostle turns his service into power, and his power into a commodityin order to gain worldly profit or even greater power.”“Brothers, these diseases and these temptations are naturally a danger [ ].We need to be clear that it is only the Holy Spirit who can heal all our infirmities [ ]. Let us ask the Virgin Mary [ ] to make us love the Church as Christ,her Son and our Lord, loves her, to have the courage to acknowledge that weare sinners in need of his mercy [ ]. And please, do not forget to pray for me!Heartfelt thanks!” (HH).It must be noted that at Christmas in 2014, Francis gave a catalogue of fifteen ‟curial diseases” (which can also infect priests); then in his 2015 Christmas message he spoke about ‟curial antibiotics.” He used an acrostic analysisof the twelve letters of the word MISERICORDIA to communicate the coreof his positive message, imitating what Matteo Ricci did in his evangelizinginitiatives in China. Francis concluded his reflection with the prayer attributedto Blessed Oscar Arnulfo Romero, noting that priests are to be ‟servants, notMessiahs” (PP).VIII. Capitalize on the ‟Popular Piety” of the FaithfulIn his comprehensive apostolic exhortation, The Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium), Pop

Pope Francis, who has over ten million followers on Twitter, is often re-membered for his sense of humor and memorable quotes. When he was elect-ed pope in 2013, he told the other cardinals: ‟May God forgive you for what you have done." A child once asked him if he wanted to be pope and this was